Anniversary
by dbc357
Summary: In the manga, readers caught a glimpse of the second anniversary of the GetBackers, but what did the first one look like? This oneshot is my vision of it. Happy reading!


**Anniversary**

"Ban-chan! Ban-chan! Ban-chan!"

His eccentric partner calling his name waked Midou Ban up. Had anyone else but Amano Ginji added a "chan" to his name, that person would be in very much pain a second later. Of course, Ban had protested at first, and violently so, but every attempt to make Ginji stop using "chan" had been in vain. There was a lot that Ban had been forced to grow accustomed to ever since the two of them teamed up.

Ban sighed. "Damn it, what do you want? I'm trying to sleep here," he replied in a grouchy voice. His mood had never been at its peak in the morning and waking up like this certainly didn't make it better. Plus, there was also the fact that it wasn't entirely comfortable sleeping in a small car, so extra sleep was appreciated.

"It's time to wake up, Ban-chan!" Ginji called excitedly, not caring one bit about the insults, just like always.

Ban groaned. _Damn it, what's the idiot so excited about this time?_ Ginji was more energetic than usual, but Ban wasn't really interested at the moment. "No, it's not. It's pretty early still and there's nothing special happening today." They earned some extra rest. After all, their last mission had been pretty tough.

"Yes, today is very special! Don't you remember what day it is today, Ban-chan?" Ginji's voice suddenly took on a disappointed tone.

Ban opened his eyes and saw the usually cheerful Ginji looking down at his hands, obviously feeling hurt. _Damn it._ Ban stubbornly tried to deny the sting of guilt he felt as he saw his partner's expression. His voice grew slightly softer against his will, but he kept the rough edge in his tone. There was no chance in hell the great Midou Ban-sama would give himself away so easily.

"Did I forget your birthday or something?"

"No, it's something more important than that," Ginji replied quietly, still not looking up. Ban sat up and gave him a poke on the forehead.

"Okay, then spill the beans. I'm not a mind-reader."

"It's our anniversary," Ginji replied in a silent voice.

Ban blinked. "What are you talking about?" He knew what an anniversary was, of course, but it didn't have any meaning to him. He had had no anniversaries to celebrate before so it was not natural for him to even think about such occasions.

"Yeah, did you forget it's a year since we formed the GetBackers today?"

Ban thought about that for a second and realized it was true. He hadn't even considered that. He frowned. "So it is, but what about it?"

"We should celebrate or something, right?" Ginji asked, finally looking up to study Ban's reaction.

Ban just sighed. _Trust this guy to come up with such an idea._ "Don't be ridiculous. I know you get excited about pretty much anything, but I don't do anniversary celebrations, and I don't plan on starting now."

Ginji's face fell and his voice was silent. "Aren't you happy at all, Ban-chan? You're the one who said that's it's not so bad to be a part of team and taught me what the "s" stands for, right?"

Ban couldn't deny that, but celebrating things was not in his nature. Ginji looked at him pleadingly with his chocolate brown eyes. Ban cursed too himself because at that moment he knew it was only a matter of time before he would give in and do something stupid. _Damn those puppy-eyes for me making go all soft!_

"Fine then, whatever makes you happy, you dummy. Happy anniversary!" Ban reached out and ruffled his partner's blonde hair, which made Ginji smile and laugh. It was still fascinating how even the smallest of gestures could make Ginji happy.

"But how do you suppose we would celebrate? The last mission paid pretty well, but we shouldn't waste what little we have left."

Ginji's cheeks took on a slight shade of pink. Ban studied Ginji suspiciously as he fumbled around. _Oh, no, what had he done now?_ The blonde reached inside his pocket and put a little package in Ban's hand.

"What's this?" Ban asked.

"It's a present, Ban-chan!" Ginji said cheerfully,

Ban was surprised, which he didn't like to show or admit, so he was relieved by the fact that he managed to compose himself before it was noticeable. He didn't have to say anything either, because Ginji beat him to it.

"Come on! Open it, Ban-chan!" Ginji was looking at him with bright and hopeful eyes now. Ban felt another sting of guilt consume him.

"Yeah, sure, I will, but I don't have anything for you," he said quietly, scratching his head with his free hand. Ginji looked slightly disappointed before his face brightened into his signature smile again.

"That's okay. It's kind of a gift for both of us anyway," he said cheerfully. "Now will you please open it already!" he added impatiently as he started bouncing up and down in his seat in his excitement.

"All right, I'm on it." Ban shook his head in disbelief. _How does he have the energy to be so excited about every little thing? _He removed the ribbon and lifted the lid off the little box in his hand. Inside were to bracelets made off leather.

"It's friendship bracelets, Ban-chan. One for me and one for you. I even made them myself and everything!" Ginji announced proudly.

Ban couldn't help himself from being distracted this time. He was stunned. No one had ever given him such a gift before. In fact, it had been years since he received a gift at all.

"Don't you like them, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked anxiously, clearly bothered by the lack of response from Ban.

Ban was roused from his thoughts and smiled warmly. He gave Ginji a light smack on the back of the head. "Idiot, they're great. Thanks."

"Yay, let's put them on!"

It didn't take long before both of them had a leather bracelet attached to an arm and they admired them in silence for a few seconds. Ginji had really done well in making them himself. Ban realized Ginji must have saved up money in secret to be able to pay for the material and the gift box. It seemed his partner was indeed quite creative when he wanted to be.

"Hey, let's make a promise!"

"Oh, yeah? What kind of promise would that be?"

"Let's be best friends forever, Ban-chan!"

"Best friends . . .?" Ban was unprepared for that one. As it caught him off guard, he found himself speechless and didn't really know what to say.

"I'm not your best friend, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked carefully, anxious again.

Ban thought about that for a second. The closest thing to a best friend to him had been Yamato. However, Yamato had been more like a big brother, just like Himiko was like a little sister. They had been like a family to him. Even though it had been a year, it still surprised him how close he and Ginji had become during that time. So, yeah, Ginji was his best friend now, his only real friend.

He smirked slightly and punched Ginji playfully on the shoulder. "Moron, what else would you be? The "s" in GetBackers means we are a team, a team of best friends, which makes us even stronger."

Ban could barely finish the sentence before he almost lost his breath as his eccentric partner tackled him. He sighed and shook his head, a hint of a warm smile instead of a smirk forming on his lips.

"Yay, this is great, Ban-chan!"

Had it been anyone else who tackled Ban like that, it would not have been appreciated, but he had grown accustomed to it with Ginji. Besides, his companion was too dumb to take Ban's threats and insults seriously anyway, so Ban had eventually given up.

"Geez, man, I don't know anyone else who is so hyper," he said in a fake irritated tone, causing Ginji too look up at him. "You're damn lucky that's what I like about you," he added with a smile and ruffled the blonde hair.

"Hey, let's go to Honky Tonk. You think Paul-san will give us free food today, Ban-chan? It's our anniversary, after all," Ginji said hopefully and he returned to bouncing up and down in his seat again.

Ban grinned mischievously. "There's only one way to find out. Let go to the Honky Tonk and see if the old geezer has finally grown a heart."

It turned out to be a good day for the GetBackers. Ban experienced his first anniversary and come to the conclusion that it's not such a bad thing after all. Even though they didn't always have the money to do anything special, none of them ever forgot. Their friendship was something worth celebrating. After all, forming the GetBackers had saved them both from the heavy burden of being lonely.


End file.
